Brad Keselowski says Jimmie Johnson's weakness on the track is not being able to race other drivers hard during the tough stretches. / Brad Barr, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

AVONDALE, Ariz. â?? Jimmie Johnson bristled Friday at the notion he doesn't perform well when forced to race hard.

The suggestion that Johnson's weakness is hard racing came Thursday night from defending champion Brad Keselowski, who told reporters he was able to force Johnson into blowing a tire during last year's Chase for the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

"For them, I wouldn't want to have to race somebody that's going to race me hard, because that's not in their wheelhouse," Keselowski said. "That was one of our strengths last year. If I was going to give Matt (Kenseth) a piece of advice, I'd say, 'Use the (crap) out of him. Every chance you get, run him hard â?? because that's his weakness.'"

Kenseth currently trails Johnson by seven points in the standings â?? just as Keselowski did one year ago when Johnson blew a tire and crashed at this 1-mile oval.

Johnson acknowledged Friday the tire blowout was his fault. His team spent the weekend trying to catch up to Keselowski's pace in practice and then in the race, and Johnson lamented not going easier on his front tire and looking at the big picture.

"Yes, we overworked the tire," Johnson said. "We created an issue ourselves. We were lacking some speed and the 2 had us covered the entire time here."

But the five-time champion strongly disagreed that he doesn't like to race hard and struggles when pressure is applied. Keselowski said the No. 48 team's "traditional advantage" has been "the gosh-golly-gee approach of not racing hard and just beating you on pure speed."

"That's not a weakness of ours by any stretch," Johnson said. "We love to race hard. That's what we're here to do.

"I'm not the best at putting up the fastest lap, the best in qualifying, the best in topping the speed charts in practice. But look at who's passed the most cars on the racetrack. I'm good at racing. That's my sweet spot."

Keselowski brought up his theory about Johnson's weakness when asked about a comment No. 48 team crew chief Chad Knaus made last week. After winning at Texas Motor Speedway, Knaus said Kenseth was a more formidable opponent for Johnson and the team than Keselowski was last year.

Johnson tried to clarify the comment during the week, saying Knaus was referring to Kenseth's experience level in winning a past championship.

Did Keselowski buy it? He wasn't quite sure what to make of the remark, he told reporters.

"It's just one of those situations where it's hard to really define what he was trying to say," Keselowski said. "I said I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn't mean I'm not listening."

But Keselowski seemed to think Knaus meant Kenseth had achieved much more as a veteran driver.

"Matt Kenseth has won a championship and he's been at the Cup level for 13 seasons, he has two Daytona 500 rings â?? I can't even list all his accomplishments," Keselowski said. "I think the emphasis should be put on respecting what Matt has done, not necessarily disrespecting me."